The Story of Sangam

Sangam

Why is Sangam’s face blurred? The stories that we publish on our website are about real people, and the photos show the actual people in the story. Some of these people live in areas where it is unsafe to be a Christian. For this reason, we blur faces, change names, and do not specify exact locations for some of the Christians in our stories. Now enjoy the true story below!*

Mumbai is one of the most populous cities of the world, but Sangam felt alone and isolated on the edge of its 19 million people. Now 33 years old, she recalls how she began to follow Jesus Christ ten years earlier, and the trials it brought in her marriage.

As an eager new believer, she wanted to share her faith and attend church. But this made her husband angry. He refused to have any talk of Christianity in their home. With a four-year-old son and another baby due soon, Sangam continued to pray. When she would not turn from worshiping God, she was beaten and threatened by her husband and his family.

She thought the situation could not get worse, but what she calls the darkest era of her life was about to begin. Sixteen days after giving birth to their daughter, “He just left and put the children in an orphanage so they would not be Christians, and I was left with nothing.” In the midst of millions, Sangam found herself alone and abandoned. She said the love of God helped her persevere in the hard time, but she was barely able to hang on.

Finding work in a tire factory helped with living expenses, but she felt her life was only to go to work, come home, and then do the same cycle again. As a Christian lady without a husband or children, she was ostracized in her community and had few friends. For eight years Sangam continued to trust God, but says it was a struggle. She admits her despair reached the point where “I wondered if life was worth continuing. There seemed to be little purpose.”

Holding her Talking Bible close to her, Sangam knew she needed to draw close to God and learn more, but adds, “I am totally illiterate and was completely dependent on what the pastor would teach on Sunday, but my job sometimes kept me from church.”

God answered Sangam’s prayer in 2012 when she was given a Talking Bible as part of a small distribution in Mumbai for Telugu language speakers. She says being able to listen to God’s word on her Talking Bible changed everything.

Sitting on the floor after a day of work the estranged mother of two said, “When I listen to the word of God, it brings me comfort, and I know I am not alone in my struggles.” She refers to the recording of the Gospel of Matthew, “I know Jesus Christ is with me, even to the end of the age.”

Sangam listens to her Talking Bible every evening. She has listened through the New Testament several times in the two years since receiving the Talking Bible. The illiterate Christian says having access to God’s word removed the desperation and loneliness that she once experienced. She adds, “I hope one day to be reunited with my children and introduce them to Jesus Christ through this Talking Bible.”

Will you pray about supporting the placement of more Talking Bibles throughout the world with poor, non-readers like Sangam? You can be part of the effort to give life to unreached people who have never heard the Word of the Lord. Please donate today.